Duration of alcohol degradation
How long it takes to break down all the alcohol you have ingested depends on various factors. First of all, the amount of alcohol ingested. It can be assumed that the more alcohol that is consumed, the longer it takes to detoxify the alcohol.
The body generally breaks down between 0.1 and 0.2 per thousand per hour. This means that a intoxication can be broken down overnight. The alcohol in a bottle of beer or two glasses of wine, on the other hand, only takes about 2-3 hours.
Another point about how fast the detoxification process takes place is the physical condition. People who only drink alcohol very rarely have a longer breakdown route than alcohol addicts. In addition, the rate of breakdown also depends on sex and body weight.
Women break down alcohol more slowly than men. Strong people break down faster than very thin people. The fact that alcohol is more noticeable on an empty stomach than on a saturated stomach is not so much due to the speed of detoxification, but rather to the actual alcohol effect. The absorption into the bloodstream on a full stomach does not take place as quickly, so it is also less noticeable. On an empty stomach, the alcohol is absorbed into the blood faster and therefore has a more intensive effect.
Formula for the degradation of alcohol
The chemical formula of alcohol is C2H6O. The formula for calculating the degradation of alcohol and its rate of degradation is for women: For men, the formula is: Body weight is in kilograms, height is in centimeters. The result of this formula is the so-called reduction factor.
This can be used in another formula to determine the blood alcohol concentration (in per mille):
- 0.31233 – 0.006446 – body weight + 0.004466 – body length. – 0.31608 – 0.004821 – body weight + 0.004432 – body length. – Alcohol quantity /(body weight – reduction factor)
Alcohol in breast milk
Alcohol passes into the breast milk of nursing women. This means that the alcohol that the mother has drunk can get into the infant. For this reason, alcohol should never be drunk while the mother is still breastfeeding.
If she still wants to drink alcohol, breast milk can be pumped out before drinking and then fed to the baby. After a moderate alcohol consumption, the mother should wait several hours before breastfeeding the baby again. However, alcohol consumption should rather be an exception during the breastfeeding period in order not to endanger the baby’s health.
A complete ban on alcohol applies throughout pregnancy. Anyone who does not abide by these rules during breastfeeding risks causing neurological disorders and also developmental disorders in the infant that may occur later.